


Falling in This Abyss

by sorasan0000



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Ayura cameo, Budding Love, F/M, Hak cameo, Jaeha cameo, Yona cameo, Yun cameo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-03-05 23:35:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13398657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sorasan0000/pseuds/sorasan0000
Summary: The group takes a break after Tetora collapses from exhaustion. Upon finding a place to rest, Tetora spots Kija, flustered as he is, and she begins to realize her feelings deeper than before.





	Falling in This Abyss

“Lady Lili, keep your elbows bent.”

“Princess, you’re tense. Bend your knees.”

“No, Lady Lili, don’t slump like that. Yes, that’s better.”

“Don’t flinch like that, Princess. Hey—“

As the two mentors calmly and strictly instructed their students, each echoing a “Yes!” with each correction needing to be made, Tetora fanned herself. It was a clear summer day with no breeze, and she was more than willing to sit out on a lesson in martial arts for her Lady Lili, who for some reason had gone off the deep end and wanted to train in this scorching weather. She could say the same for Princess Yona. She supposed that it was her influence rubbing off on Lili again.

She smiled and went back to their group campsite to get more water refills for them. Reaching for the final container, she spotted Yun preparing more just in case. The boy, sharp and sweet as could be, was only 16-years old yet had the knack of an all-capable healer and caregiver. He sighed and wiped the sweat from his forehead, shaking his head and muttering under his breath. Yes, unbelievable, right? Those girls sure could be silly sometimes.

“Tetora,” a voice from above called out. It was Jaeha, one of the country’s Four Dragons, descending from what Tetora could assume was the top of a nearby tree. He had a way of taking her by surprise that way. She was used to it, though.

“Yes?”

 “I’ll take those to them. You collapsed from the heat yesterday, so you should still take it easy,” he said with a wink.

Her face heated up and she swallowed her words. She was completely fine at that point, but Yun agreed. She sighed, handing over the containers and watching as he leapt away. She gripped her left side, something done out of habit after that stabbing incident, and turned to go find some shade.

It must have been the altitude. The heat. The climb. Really, anything. She knew she was tough. However, she admitted that mountain venturing wasn’t her thing, and she _had_ been out of practice lately with her stamina. She recalled what had happened. She had felt dizzy. Her knees had given out, and before she knew it she had landed on the ground, vision blurry and flashing, her head pounding. Lady Lili had sounded frantic, Yun had placed his hand on her head, and before everything went dark she felt herself being picked up gently. A strand of silver hair and a patch of blue fabric were the last things she remembered seeing.

As she remembered that, she realized that she had not seen him since that morning. Zeno and Shin-ah had popped in occasionally but were off on their own assignments in gathering supplies for dinner. He was usually the one who volunteered to carry the heavy duty things, so perhaps he was busy hunting a deer. Gathering wood. Finding good boulders for everyone to sit on later perhaps?

Or sitting alone near a stream.

She quietly gasped as she spotted Kija and zipped behind a tree. Peeking little by little, she took a better look from behind. Upon looking closer, he wasn’t just sitting. His right hand curled and expanded, he leaned forward, and then he slashed at the water. He grunted in frustration as fish wriggled in midair and then splashed right back into the water. He slammed his claw against the water, causing a massive splash that came back up and blasted him in the face. It made some fish plop onto the bank, to which he hurriedly caught and threw behind him.

She sat in awe of the sloppy but effective fishing job and couldn’t help but find it endearing. Stepping out from behind the tree, she breathed in and calmed her thumping heart.

“I once saw someone grab a fish from straight out of the water with nothing but a lightning fast whip of her hand. Perhaps that’s what you were trying to accomplish,” she said with a hint of curiosity.

Kija let out a surprised squeak, dropping his cape and turning a deep red. Stuttering a denial, he picked up the cape and clutched it against his chest. Lately he had been doing this whenever they found themselves alone. Tetora tried to calm her beating heart, but seeing him become so flustered just made her chest explode with flutters and warmth.

“That woman taught me how to do it. Would you like a demonstration?” she asked while leaning forward, all the while keeping eye contact for as much as she could without him glancing away.

“I-I’m f-fine,” he stuttered. He laid his cape down and tossed the fish on it, which was a shame. The cape looked like it had seen its battles, with tears on the hems and faint blood stains blotting it. Now it was going to smell like fish.

Tetora put a finger against her chin and began thinking that getting a net for the group would be a wise investment. It was nothing more than a fleeting thought, as she noticed him looking at her and was captured by those beautiful blue eyes. His face was still red, but he seemed more comfortable. He wrapped his cape and hurled it over his right shoulder, with fish in tow.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked.

She nodded and chuckled. “You were the one who picked me up and carried me, isn’t that right?”

He uttered a soft confirmation and turned redder.

She smirked and lowered her eyelids, leaning in even closer and lowering her voice. “I remember you picked me up so very gently and then held me against your chest. How thoughtful.”

If there was ever a moment when she wanted to take a man’s face in her palms and smooch it, now was one of those. If he were a steam kettle, he would be fuming. There came a second where she wondered if she would be the one needing to carry him back. Really, when she first joined the group it was nothing like this.

“Thank you,” she said, touching his arm and softly patting it. It calmed him, and he answered back with a “You’re welcome.”

Knowing that she was the one holding him back from going to the camp site, she turned and began heading back herself. Kija caught up and walked next to her, making sure he never under- or out-paced her. She entwined her hands behind her back and began humming, looking up through the trees and to the side of her. It was already a clearly set path, so there were no worries of accidentally tripping and making a slightly awkward situation an embarrassing one.

As they entered the camp site, Lili, wheezing and sweaty, pointed at Tetora and exclaimed as best she could, “Tetora, you’re supposed to be resting!”

Tetora giggled and waved in assurance that she understood. Before leaving, she glanced back at Kija, who had dropped the fish near the boiling pot, and was about to head in the opposite direction.

“Kija.”

He quickly zipped around, answering to her call.

“Care to join me?” she asked with a wink.

Jaeha, in a flash, roped Kija under his arm and turned him around, whispering and gesturing with his hands. The people present looked on in confusion, save for Yun who began gutting the fish as if wanting to stay out of it. Jaeha let go of his hold and elbowed Kija in the side several times before Kija straightened out and shouted for him to stop.

Kija flipped around, and with a look of determined resignation but an obvious hint of embarrassment, he went up to her and held out his left arm with his elbow bent. His face turning red again, he clamped his eyes shut and waited.

“J-Ju-Just in case you feel light-headed again,” he blurted.

It was Tetora’s turn to blush like mad, knowing what he was doing. She could see Jaeha snickering in the background, knowing what kind of advice he had given him. Oh boy, he _knew_.

Clearing her throat, she smiled and clamped both of her arms around Kija’s, cuddling it against her chest and tugging in the direction they both came from before. There was plenty of shade to choose from there.

As soon as they were out of sight again, she let go of her grip. “I’m sorry, that’s uncomfortable for you, isn’t it?”

Kija was silent for a moment before answering her. “It’s all right when it’s just you.”

Tetora slowly linked her arm with his, leaning against him as they slowed their pace. She exhaled with a shiver, realizing she had tripped into a far deeper abyss than she could have imagined.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place in the context of Lili, Ayura, and Tetora being part of the main group. It also takes place sometime within the next year, so that is why Yun is listed as 16.
> 
> My first KiTet fic.


End file.
